China:Inner Mongolia Ulanhot Green and Climate Resilient Urban Development Project

proposed

Ulanhot City (UC) is the largest city in the Hinggan League (HL), a prefecture level of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR) with a population of around 360,000 and area of 2,360 square kilometers (sq.km.) and an urban built-up area of 45 sq.km. The city, located in the northeastern part of the region, is the seat of the League Government. Despite a robust pre-pandemic economic growth of 6.4 percent (an annual average during 2016 - 2019), Ulanhot city has encountered multiple challenges including deteriorating and disconnected urban infrastructure such as road network, drainage system, water supply and sanitation, and shared community space as well as degraded natural resources particularly river wetland, river courses, grassland, and mountain These interdependent challenges have hindered sustainable economic development of the city and livability of its residents in terms of high transportation costs, worsened level of road safety and inefficient drainage, water supply and sanitation system, and deteriorated urban green areas. Furthermore, more frequent and severe occurrences of waterlogging, flood and drought, and loss of biodiversity and natural resources are expected to be exacerbated by the increasing frequency of extreme weather events brought by climate change. To achieve the project development objective, the following project components are being considered by the Ulanhot Municipality: Component 1 - Climate Resilient Urban Infrastructure Improvement. This component will support the improvement of key public infrastructure such as road network and accompanying pedestrian and non-motorized transport pathways as well as the underground drainage system, water supply and sanitation as well as heating pipeline in selected low-income communities. Integration between engineering design with nature-based solutions will be the main design feature of the improvement. Rainwater harvesting and storage systems will also be integrated in the design, aiming to store and utilize 80% of rainwater and recharge groundwater to enhance local ecological system. It will also support the greening and building resilience of community public space such as plaza/square, parks and children's parks. Component 2 - Ecological Enhancement of Tao'er River and Wetland This component aims to restore riparian area along the Tao'er River and wetland. The activities will further enhance ecological and biodiversity conservation as well as increase the natural water storage capacity of the basin to reduce flood and waterlogging risk which could be exacerbated by climate change. This component will also support the ecological treatment of abandoned quarries and factories, to reduce pollution and soil erosion as well as safety risk. Component 3 - City Climate Smart Management and Capacity Building. The component will support the adoption of digital technology such as Geographic Information System (GIS) and big data analysis to assist in managing water resources, underground equipment and pipelines, flood and drought prevention and mitigation measures, weather emergency system, and smart water supply system. Collecting accurate, reliable, and up to date data from various sources are also part of the system design to ensure robust results.